New program to assist survivors of 2017 Las Vegas festival shooting

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — Victims and survivors of the October 2017 Las Vegas Route 91 Harvest Festival shooting residing in California will now have the chance to get some assistance through a new project: SoCalRoute91.

Kern County District Attorney Cynthia Zimmer announced Friday that ‘Give an Hour’, a nonprofit specializing in mental health and emotional wellness, has been awarded a contract and is partnering with the California Victim Compensation Board to offer support services to victims of the shooting. This includes those in Kern.

The DA's Office said approximately 65% of the more than 24,000 attendees of the 2017 Route 91 Harvest Festival were from California, with most residing in Southern California.

Funding for this project, SoCalRoute91, will benefit eight counties: Kern, Ventura, Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, Riverside, and San Diego.

The DA's Office Victim Services Unit said it has assisted more than 100 Kern County residents affected by the Harvest Festival Shooting. Based on ticket sales, it is estimated that more than 300 Kern residents attended the Harvest Festival, and the impacts of the shooting extend beyond those who were directly present.

The SoCalRoute91 project will begin offering the following no-cost services in late September 2020:
• Ongoing Support Groups: Initially, support groups will be available online using a web-based platform. When it is safe to do so, face-to-face groups will be offered in each county;
• Emotional wellness training and coaching;
• An Evidence-Based Peer Support Model that will provide training to survivors who are interested in becoming a peer supporter in the project;
• An online Trauma Resource Library;
• Referrals for mental health services;
• Annual anniversary and memorial events in each county.

For 2020, the project is producing video memorials from survivors to share online. If a survivor is interested in sharing their story, they should contact Give an Hour Outreach Coordinator Michael Morisette at: mmorisette@giveanhour.org.